The Amicus Collection: And Now The Screaming Starts!

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All Rise...

If Judge David Johnson had a nickel for every time he said the words "And now the screaming starts," he'd, well, on second thought, let's cut this blurb short now.

The Charge

Hands off!

Opening Statement

From the vaults of three-decade Brit horror comes a tale of betrayal,
deception and supernatural sexual assault

Facts of the Case

This Amicus film tells the story of a newly married couple, Charles (Ian
Ogilvy) and Catherine (Stephanie Beacham) Fengriffen, as they move into the
family estate to start a life full of making out fully clothed. But it isn't
long until crazy crap starts going down. One night, Catherine is besieged by a
supernatural (?) presence and raped. From that traumatic moment on, she starts
seeing horrifying visions of an old man with his eyes cut out, staring at her
through the window, a disembodied hand, and paintings that seem to come alive
with demonic presences.

Feeling helpless, Charles calls in Dr. Whittle (Patrick Magee) to get a
diagnosis. The good doctor quickly realizes that Catherine's issues are far more
involved than he is capable of treating, so he calls in the big gun: Dr. Pope
(Peter Cushing), a renowned psychologist, driven by logic.

Meanwhile, everyone suspects that the weirdo farmhand may be involved
somehow, as he continually makes veiled threats. Sorting out the mess will leads
Pope and the Fengriffins into the heart of a dastardly deed that happened years
ago, and set off the chain of terrifying events that has befallen the
couple.

The Evidence

I'll confess, I'm not the biggest fan of these Hammer and Amicus movies. I
can objectively see the value in them, recognize the impressive set and costume
design, give props to the thespians who are able lend some credibility to a film
titled Frankenstein and the
Monster from Hell, and all that, but odds are 500,000 to 1 I won't be
curling up with a Peter Cushing-helmed period piece unless aid period happened a
long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.

So there you have it, full disclosure. If you Brit horror fans wish to turn
down your noses at this Cro-Magnon reviewer, so be it. However, before you
remove the site from your bookmarks, let me offer this in my defense: I kinda
liked And Now the Screaming Starts. I don't know where it ranks on Amicus
fans' top 10 lists, but it worked for me.

It's not a particularly scary movie, and the chills are much more implied
than revealed. For example, this film is dependent on the concept of rape, and
two such assaults happen during the runtime: one is at the beginning when
Catherine is violated by the presumed ghost, and the second happens in a
flashback. Both scenes are key to the story, but are (thankfully) not shown in
great detail. The rapes themselves are disturbing, mainly because of what they
are, but there's nothing remotely graphic shown onscreen.

Shocking images aren't the bread of butter of this film anyway, as the
heaviest duty stuff you'll see are quick cuts to an old man with bloody eye
sockets. There's a hint of "jump scene" to be found within these quick
cuts, but by today's blood-soaked horror standards, it's all pretty tame. Oh,
there's also a detached hand that crawls around a bit, but the effects render it
more laughable to horrifying.

What the film has in its corner, though, is a combination of strong
performances and a solid story. Stephanie Beacham shoulders the largest amount
of the dramatic load, and does well in her slow descent into mental torture,
and, as a bonus, is smoking hot in that early uptight 19th century British kind
of way. Cushing, a mainstay in these films, carries himself with the usual
regality. The plot is twist-heavy, and banks a lot of its punch on the big
reveal at the end, which, while satisfying, is hugely predictable. Still, not a
bad venture and a movie-watching experience I didn't loathe.

Good treatment from Dark Sky Films: 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen and a 2.0
mono technical treatment, supplemented by two commentary tracks, featuring
director Roy Ward Baker and Stephanie Beacham on one and Ian Ogilvy on the
other.

Closing Statement

It won't keep you up at night, but this Amicus offering should keep you
engaged.

The Verdict

Not guilty.

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